'Bad dog' sculpture gets attention, but no biscuit

Frank Owen of New York reads a descriptive plaque on his friend's sculpture in Newport Beach. "Bad Dog," by artist Richard Jackson, is a temporary sculpture installed at the Orange County Museum of Art. The 28-foot-high puppy has his leg lifted on the side of the museum and is rigged to spray yellow paint on the side of the building. "Bad Dog" is part of the "Richard Jackson: Ain't Painting a Pain" exhibition, the first retrospective devoted to the 74-year-old artist. "Bad Dog" was created especially for the exhibit.KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Quote: "I think it's wonderful. It's making a comment that art doesn't need to be put on a pedestal," said Tom Akashi of Fountain Valley.

There it is – a big black dog – 24 feet tall.

The dog stands right by the side wall of the Orange County Museum of Art building in Newport Beach, one leg lifted, squirting yellow paint on the salmon-colored wall.

"Bad Dog."

That's what Sierra Madre artist Richard Jackson calls his latest creation. You see it as you drive down San Clemente Drive, smack dab in the middle of tall office buildings, a stone's throw from Fashion Island.

The dog is part of Jackson's exhibit titled "Ain't Painting a Pain," set to premiere Sunday.

"Bad Dog" is getting nothing but positive comments from onlookers, said museum spokeswoman Kirsten Schmidt. She said the museum has also received several emails about the giant pooch.

"We got one from an Australian website asking if it was a hoax or some type of joke," she said.

Some said the museum should have made the dog ... well ... not as anatomically perfect. But most of the responses, Schmidt said, expressed amusement.

Jackson said that was his goal with "Bad Dog."

"My intention is never to shock or offend anyone or any particular group," he said. "People's reaction to 'Bad Dog' or any art for that matter tends to vary. Sometimes, it depends on whether you're going home from church or from a strip club."

Jackson said he crafted the dog from fiberglass and other composite materials with the help of an engineering company in Santa Ana. It consists of 52 digitally-cut-out pieces that were assembled on site.

Once the shell was placed, Jackson climbed into the dog with a big bucket of yellow paint, which he squirted on to the wall. Now there’s a pump that could continuously shoot out the paint, Jackson said.

"The way I see it, it's funny," he said. "I understand that Newport Beach has traditionally been a conservative community. But this is an art museum. This piece of art is making a commentary or statement."

The dog is what Jackson calls a "painting machine," a mechanism that helps create works of art. He has at least a half-dozen other painting machines as part of the exhibit, including a herd of deer statues that shoot out paintballs.

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Frank Owen of New York reads a descriptive plaque on his friend's sculpture in Newport Beach. "Bad Dog," by artist Richard Jackson, is a temporary sculpture installed at the Orange County Museum of Art. The 28-foot-high puppy has his leg lifted on the side of the museum and is rigged to spray yellow paint on the side of the building. "Bad Dog" is part of the "Richard Jackson: Ain't Painting a Pain" exhibition, the first retrospective devoted to the 74-year-old artist. "Bad Dog" was created especially for the exhibit. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A worker from the Orange County Museum of Art checks out the yellow paint that is part of the "Bad Dog" sculpture by Richard Jackson. The piece is a 28-foot puppy marking its territory on the wall of the museum in Newport Beach. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A 28-foot dog appears to be relieving himself on a building near Fashion Island in Newport Beach. "Bad Dog," by artist Richard Jackson, is a temporary sculpture installed at the Orange County Museum of Art. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Noelle Basich of Laguna Niguel imitates the 28-foot sculpture of a puppy marking its territory on the wall of the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach. "It's interesting. I wasn't expecting it, but I like it," said Basich. The sculpture was created by artist Richard Jackson for his exhibition "Richard Jackson: Ain't Painting a Pain." PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
"Bad Dog," by artist Richard Jackson, is a temporary sculpture installed at the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
David Nelson of Buena Park photographs the giant sculpture titled "Bad Dog" at the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tom Akashi of Fountain Valley stops his car to get a better look at "Bad Dog," a sculpture by artist Richard Jackson. "Bad Dog" is is temporarily installed at the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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